w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
33
The expansion of transport and com-
munication during the 19th century led
to a network of railroads being construct-
ed across Montana. Ranchers, miners,
and town boosters were begging for rail
connections to lucrative markets and to
remote Montanan communities, the rail-
roads meant everything.
Montanans had their hopes that the
Northern Pacific Railroad that would link
Minnesota through Montana and on to
the Pacific Coast. Unfortunately, difficult
financial times and the falling-through of
a government grant lead to the bankrupt-
cy of the Northern Pacific. Montanans
were disappointed, fearing they would be
cut off from the rest of a nation racing into
the future. But other railroads had their
sights on Montana. On a cold December
night in 1881, the first Utah and Northern
Union Pacific train entered Butte, eager to
tap into the Butte mining trade. (source:
Gallatin History Museum archive Montana
Kids & History)
Other train lines like the Gallatin
Valley Line, The Milwaukee Road and
Turkey Red (a branch line of the Milwau-
kee Road) followed playing a significant
role in the economic development as the
tracks stemmed from the Midwest, through
Montana's
Passenger
Trains
GALLATIN
COUNTY
HISTORY
MUSEUM
